Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. She has outlined that in good detail, but for the very start of it, one might have someone from the UK, France or some other part of Europe who has an idea and may have part of the work done. He or she may have applied for or have a pending patent but not yet have it. In the meantime, he or she may decide to set up a business in Ireland because he or she likes the universities and technological colleges and it is an ideal mix for the company. It may be that some of the IP is part developed. There may be a number of patents involved with one or two having been applied for and a need for more research and development. The company may not have a full mix of what it wants before it starts production. Does that mean the company has to be commercialised first? There could be a lot of people with ideas they have tried to develop who could move here. Where exactly does this start?

The person in charge could rule them out by saying that some of the work was carried out prior to the start-up in Ireland. The company may not have commercialised before it starts here. Is there a process to say that if a company starts up here, it still has more research and development to carry out. If a company has commercialised, is it ruled out? If a company has commercialised, it has a certain amount of research and development done and requires more. However, it has commercialised and it has decided to come to Ireland. Does that rule it out?